New roman Theatre found in Metellinum

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

here is the information (sorry it is all in Spanish), I'll try to translate later editing the post:

http://www.hoy.es/20080315/regional/tea ... 80315.html

It is one of the bigest theaters found, perhaps as big as Merida's one.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Wow, how did it go unnoticed for so long with all that laying about....?
Or have they been digging?

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

The existence of the theatre was known before, but previuos diggins didn't find anything interesting, so archeolists thought that maybe the theatre was destroyed during islamic period.

Current discoveries have been found only one meter deeper than previous ones, by now have been found statues, one impressive leg of a statue (looking the leg, the statue would have been more than 3 meters high) and columns.

Archeologist are just now digging and every day new discoveries appear, they say the situation is very closer to the discovery of the roman theatre in Merida, or even better, because the theatre is intact, it just collapsed over itself and was covered till now (the theatre of Merida was used as a quarry during islamic period). They consider it the "iceberg tip" and think that a few meters near the theatre could appear the local forum. Some rests of the wall of the city has been found too.

Metellium was the firs city founded by romans in this region, founded in republican era by Quintus Cecilius Metelus and this theatre is 50 years older than Merida's one

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Awesome!
Was it toppled by an earthquake, and therefor was missed by the quarriers of islamic and later times?

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

The foundation of Emerita Augusta and the construction of the silver way made Metellium fall into a slow and long decadence, and it is supposed that the city was abandoned.

The fact of being abandoned made the buildings collapse because of the lack of maintenance.

Time passed and after the fall of the empire, visigothics came and stablished in the lower slope of the hill near the river (the roman city was at the top), so anybody built over the ruins that with time got totally covered. That's because when islamics came they didn't find anything there.

What happened in Merida was something similar to things that happened for example in Cordoba or in Sevilla with visigothics, and more with islamics, roman ruins were used as foundations for their buildings. If you go to the mosque in Cordoba you will see that most of the columns are roman columns made of marble.

The islamic castle in Mérida is a good example of it, it was built just at the end of the roman bridge, archeologist say that it was built to protect islamic population from the frequent revolts of the city agains them. I looks like the roman "spirit" (I mean traditions, way of life, etc) were very strong in the natives of the city even in the early Middle Age. The fall of the empire didn't change the way of life or traditions, population was totally romanized, and the change was something gradual.

[Iagoba]

Impresionante! hock:

Laudes!

Una buena noticia, desde luego...habrá que darse una vuelta por ahí...

Good news, so! I´ll have to do a trip to there... :roll:

[NightHunter24]

Mucha envidia de mi parte...You are so lucky Iagoba! :lol:

One day I'll have to make a visit to Roman Hispania to se the sites...*sigh*

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

Here are some pics of the diggins:



For those who don't know, this is the village where Hernán Cortés was born

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

Some more:

[Servio Caro (Javier Sánc]

A nice preview of what has been found:

[url:3fasiaad]http://www.soitu.es/soitu/2008/11/05/infovideos/1225915715_341834.html[/url]

[Nearco]

The best pieces were exposed in Badajoz this summer, you can see them here:

[url:1um6mr81]http://www.medellin.es/reflejos_roma.htm[/url]

some more pics:



Very interesting, bronze letters covered with gold from the theatre front





2000 years later people can be in the theatre again

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

Mui Mui Bonito!!!!!!!!!

M.VIB.M.

[john m roberts]

Javier,
Do you know which Quintus Caecilius Metellus was the founder? In the year 62BC alone there were 5 prominent men of that name. The reason I ask is that I write about that family in my novels and this could be very useful in my writing.

[Nearco]

He should be Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (Son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus "the numidic". He was consul in the 83 bc, and fought in the civil war with Sila against Caius Marius. He came to Spain in the 79 b.c. as proconsul of the Hispania Ulterior, to fight against Sertorius. The forts of Metellinum and Castra Caecilia were built in 79-78 b.c..

[john m roberts]

Thank you, Nearco
Pius was one of the 5 I mentioned above. He died that year, succeeded by another of the 5, his adopted son, who had the wonderful name of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica!